State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

urban infrastructure

  • Con Ed Study Details Projected Climate Impacts on Energy Systems

    Con Ed Study Details Projected Climate Impacts on Energy Systems

    Report finds extreme heat, coastal storm surge, inland flooding and more violent storms will significantly impact the energy systems of the New York City area in the 21st century.

  • Public-Private Partnerships Must Survive this Attack on the Public Sector

    Public-Private Partnerships Must Survive this Attack on the Public Sector

    It’s popular to believe that the private sector is a paragon of efficiency and that government is simply waste, fraud and abuse, but it is simply not true. It is essential that we focus on building the public-private collaborations that have long made this nation great.

  • Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program worked this past semester to analyze city-level strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • The Big City, Subdivided for Sustainability

    The Big City, Subdivided for Sustainability

    Two-thirds of people on the planet will live in cities by 2050. But few cities are prepared for this population boom. An upcoming research project will explore new, localized models for urban infrastructure to make cities cleaner, healthier and more enjoyable places to live.

  • After Sandy, Testing the Waters

    After Sandy, Testing the Waters

    During Hurricane Sandy the seas rose a record 14-feet in lower Manhattan. Water flooded city streets, subways, tunnels and even sewage treatment plants. It is unclear how much sewage may have been released as plants lost power or were forced to divert untreated wastewater into the Hudson River. Four days after Sandy, the environmental group…

  • A Prescient Voice on Sandy: Suddenly Everyone Is Listening

    A Prescient Voice on Sandy: Suddenly Everyone Is Listening

    For much of the last decade, Klaus Jacob warned of New York’s vulnerability to severe flooding in a major storm. Four days after the storm that crippled New York and New Jersey and swamped his own home along the Hudson River, Jacob reflected on Sandy’s lessons and what comes next.

  • New York’s Blueprint for Climate Resilience

    Panel Tells City to Brace for Heat Waves, High Water

  • Con Ed Study Details Projected Climate Impacts on Energy Systems

    Con Ed Study Details Projected Climate Impacts on Energy Systems

    Report finds extreme heat, coastal storm surge, inland flooding and more violent storms will significantly impact the energy systems of the New York City area in the 21st century.

  • Public-Private Partnerships Must Survive this Attack on the Public Sector

    Public-Private Partnerships Must Survive this Attack on the Public Sector

    It’s popular to believe that the private sector is a paragon of efficiency and that government is simply waste, fraud and abuse, but it is simply not true. It is essential that we focus on building the public-private collaborations that have long made this nation great.

  • Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program worked this past semester to analyze city-level strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • The Big City, Subdivided for Sustainability

    The Big City, Subdivided for Sustainability

    Two-thirds of people on the planet will live in cities by 2050. But few cities are prepared for this population boom. An upcoming research project will explore new, localized models for urban infrastructure to make cities cleaner, healthier and more enjoyable places to live.

  • After Sandy, Testing the Waters

    After Sandy, Testing the Waters

    During Hurricane Sandy the seas rose a record 14-feet in lower Manhattan. Water flooded city streets, subways, tunnels and even sewage treatment plants. It is unclear how much sewage may have been released as plants lost power or were forced to divert untreated wastewater into the Hudson River. Four days after Sandy, the environmental group…

  • A Prescient Voice on Sandy: Suddenly Everyone Is Listening

    A Prescient Voice on Sandy: Suddenly Everyone Is Listening

    For much of the last decade, Klaus Jacob warned of New York’s vulnerability to severe flooding in a major storm. Four days after the storm that crippled New York and New Jersey and swamped his own home along the Hudson River, Jacob reflected on Sandy’s lessons and what comes next.

  • New York’s Blueprint for Climate Resilience

    Panel Tells City to Brace for Heat Waves, High Water